What We Talk About When We Talk About Grades

 Grading can be one of the most emotional things to talk about with teachers.  Here are some of the things I've heard from colleagues over the years about grades: Grades should reward the hard-working students (and, by implication, punish the lazy ones); grades should should reflect a student's growth over the grading period; grades should only reflect knowledge of the content standards and nothing else; grades should reflect 21st century skills (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity) not just content;an F will motivate a student to worker harder;students who don't turn anything in should get a 0;the lowest grade a student should receive on an assignment should be a 50%

All of these conversations miss the larger question: what should grades reflect? Susan Burchart (2013) says getting bogged down in the details about grading leads to lack of progress being made. I've experienced this first hand as I've heard colleagues passionately argue their positions. She argues that before a school-site can reform its grading practices, they need to reach a consensus about what grades should measure. Only then will you not get bogged down in the weeds of endless debates about the mathematical effects of giving a  0% vs. 50% for the lowest grade.

I agree with Rick Wormeli that most of the work students do in school is practice and shouldn't be graded. Grades should only reflect mastery of the standards. Check out his video explaining Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. I also agree with him that homework, if it is assigned at all, should be worth minimal to no points. Check out his video explaining How Much Should Homework Count?

Why do you think? How do teachers at your site talk about grading?